


I Need a Hero

by Serenade_in_Blue



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Actually Has a Plot, Adora (She-Ra) is a Dork, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Anxious Adora (She-Ra), Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Comic Book Science, Enemies to Friends to Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluffy, Frenemies Catradora but as gay as I could make it, Jock Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), They are so in love with each other but also they hate each other, This has every trope I've wanted to see for ages
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:55:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29303832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serenade_in_Blue/pseuds/Serenade_in_Blue
Summary: Catra grabbed the front of She Ra’s shirt, pulling her close with a menacing snarl. She Ra could feel their breaths mingling in the narrow space between their lips.“I despise you.” Catra growled pressing her further against the rail. Her body was so warm like there’s a fire burning her from the inside.She Ra leaned forward and with every ounce of confidence left in her body she whispered in Catra’s ear. “What are you going to do about it?”~~~She Ra, hero of Etheria has one goal: to take down her archenemy, Catra. So, of course, she uses her secret identity to infiltrate Horde Inc. as a spy and gain her trust. What could go wrong?
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

_Adora_

Horde Tower is the tallest building in all of Etheria. You can see it in snow globes that tourists buy when they visit the big city. It’s visible no matter where you are downtown. Which is why it seems like such a stupid place for an evil lair.

Adora sighed as she stared up at the 114 stories towering above her. _Did Hordak HAVE to make his headquarters so tall? Surely 50 stories would have sufficed._

Well, it’s not like she could ask him now. Hordak was in prison now, and Adora had absolutely no plans to visit him.

Now if she could just get rid of Horde Inc.’s new CEO.

“You guys ready?” Bow asked, sounding a lot more excited than Adora. He’s wearing his full, dopey superhero costume, covering his face but not his midriff as usual. If they’d been standing on a busy street they’d probably be getting some weird looks in these outfits. Which is why they were currently hidden in a back alley behind the massive skyscraper. The sun was setting, and Adora could feel the beginning of a September chill in the air.

“The Quadrion readings are off the charts!” Glimmer said pointing one of her fancy contraptions up towards the penthouse. The device (a Quadrion reader? Adora doesn’t speak techno babble) is bright pink and sparkly, matching the rest of Glimmer’s outfit. In addition being an absolute scientific genius, she also makes sure to stay true to her look. Even her small bombs that she makes in her free time produce bright glittery explosions that Adora rolls her eyes at every time.

“So, I’m guessing a Quadrion is bad?” Adora asked, giving Glimmer a confused look.

“Not inherently, no,” Glimmer explained, “But it is definitely weird. And given where it’s coming from…”

“Probably not a good sign.” Adora guessed, “Well, it looks like we’re making the climb. Fire away Bow.”

Bow looked positively giddy. Glimmer rolled her eyes.

Carefully, he plucked an arrow from his quiver, nocked it, pulled back and—

Bullseye.

A thin, silvery rope now dangled from 114 stories above them.

“Nice shot,” Adora commented.

“I aim to please,” Bow said with an exaggerated bow. Like bowing not like his name Bow. You get the idea.

Adora stretched her arms overhead, relishing the freedom of her simple hoodie and jeans for one last moment. She always hated this part. But she has a job to do.

The sword-shaped birthmark on her collarbone began to glow a brilliant teal.

Time for She Ra.

~~~

_“Adora...”_

_“Yes Lord Hordak?”_

_“Do you know your destiny?” Hordak sat on his throne, towering over his protege._

_“Of course.” Adora said, nervous._

_“Tell me…”_

_“I will be strong.” She recited., “I will be powerful. I will serve Lord Hordak faithfully, and we will bring Etheria to its knees.”  
_

_“No.”_

_Adora looked up, confused. “…no?”_

_“That is not_ Adora’s _destiny.”_

_“I thought—“_

_“That destiny belongs to She Ra.” Hordak barked. “She Ra is strong. She Ra is powerful. She Ra will have Etheria begging for mercy. Adora is nothing”_

_“I’m sorry Lord—“_

_“ADORA IS NOTHING!”_

_“I— I’m sorry…”_

_“Don’t be sorry, my dear,” Hordak said, sickeningly sweetly. “Be She Ra.”_

_Adora shivered, her whole body exhausted. “…it’s been so many hours I don’t know if I can—”  
_

_“NOW!”_

_“…Yes Lord Hordak.” She closed her eyes and her birthmark weakly glowed. “F— For the Honor of Grayskull!”_

_~~~_

114 stories is a very long climb, even for a magical 8 foot tall warrior goddess.

She Ra was panting hard with her hands on her knees when they reached the balcony.

“That was fun!” Bow chirped, hopping off of She Ra’s back.

“Yeah, this was your fastest yet!” Glimmer said, as she jumped to the floor.

“You,” _wheeze_ “Guys” _wheeze_ “SUCK!”

Bow and Glimmer doubled over laughing. Even though this is not funny. And Adora’s friends are jerks. Ok maybe it’s a little funny.

“WELL WELL WELL…”

A familiar, raspy voice echoed from the darkness of the covered lab connected to the overhang the heroes stood on.

“If it isn’t Glitza and Moe. And of course, their fearless leader, See Saw.”

She Ra scowled, her hands curling into fists at her side. “Catra.” She growled.

Catra chuckled and stepped lithely out of the shadows. She wore her signature headpiece that served not just to hold back her hair, but also to conceal her identity. Glimmer had tried time and again to figure out how it worked. Was it tech? Magic? Both? Whatever it was, it looked a hell of a lot easier to fight in than the stupid masks that Glimmer and Bow had to wear. She Ra had fought Catra a hundred times, but whenever she tried to remember her face, all she could see was a smirking blur. Staring directly into her eyes was like staring at the sun. And She Ra didn’t mean that figuratively, her eyes would literally start to burn after too long.

But she knew Catra’s silhouette. Her slight frame that hid her deceptive strength. Her narrow hips, always leaning to one side as she watched She Ra smugly. Her chest, which was somehow much easier to stare at than her face. Because of the mystical, eye-burning helmet thing. No other reason.

“You act like you’re surprised to see me,” Catra said, “As if you didn’t just break into _my_ lab.”

She Ra scowled.

“Wow. You really are an idiot. I mean, I knew that. You’ve shown me time and again and yet,” Catra furrowed her eyebrows in mock sincerity, “you keep finding new ways to surprise me with your ineptitude.”

“Well jokes on you Catra,” Bow said, stepping forward to stand defiantly next to She Ra, “I don’t even know what that word means!”

Catra blinked, bewildered. “You do hear the words coming out of your mouth, don’t you?”

Bow looked embarrassed. “Yeah... that wasn’t my best comeback...”

She Ra stepped forward with a frustrated sigh. “The POINT IS,” She Ra said, throwing a glare behind her at Bow, “we’re not letting you get away with this.”

“YEAH!” Bow piped up.

Catra raised an eyebrow incredulously. “Get away with… what exactly?” She spread her arms wide, gesturing to the shadowy lair behind her. “Existing in my own home? Destroying poor Bro’s fragile ego?”

“Hey!” Bow cried.

Catra took a step forward to stand toe to toe with She Ra. Despite having a good 2 and half feet on her, She Ra suddenly felt very small. “Admit it blondie,” she purred, “you’ve got nothing on me. In fact, I may just have to report you for breaking and entering.” She smiled that cruel, cocky smile that fills Adora’s dreams. Err, nightmares. Dreams about Catra are supposed to be nightmares.

“I— the— Quadrions—“ Adora stammered. Her eyes were burning, yet she kept looking right into Catra’s eyes. Had they always been mismatched?

“Hey Catra!” Glimmer yelled from deep inside the shadows of the lab. A light switch is flicked on and Glimmer appears standing next to a giant machine. “You wouldn’t happen to have a permit for a…” she squinted dramatically at the inscription on the metal monstrosity, “…Ray of Instant Death?”

Catra clenched her jaw. She Ra smiled.

“What was that about having ‘nothing on you’?” She teased.

Catra sighed heavily. “Why do we always have to do this the hard way?”

She lifted her hand and snapped.

Thick wires started to wrap around She Ra’s legs. She tried to kick them off, but for every one she hit, three more rose from the ground in its place. Soon the metal wires rose up past her hips, reaching for her arms. She Ra heard a desperate cry and saw Bow behind her holding his quiver over his head to protect his precious arrows. Glimmer threw glitter bombs one after another at her feet, but soon her arms were restrained at her sides.

“You know, you three break in here only to get trapped over and over, and yet every time you act surprised that I’ve invested in home security.” She strolled over to the machine, tenderly stroking the rivets and steel plating. Catra always took the extra time to make her inventions look polished and imposing. She Ra happened to know that a death ray can be perfectly functional without being labeled (she may not be a tech genius, but she isn’t _totally_ oblivious).

“You want to know something funny?” Catra asked, her hips cocked to the side, her shoulders relaxed, looking smug. “This death ray thing doesn’t even emit Quadrions.” She picked up a small black device, no bigger than a TV remote. “I had to build this thing _in addition_ to the death ray just to get you three to come.”

She Ra scoffed, although it sounded a little less confident with her all tied up. “Why on earth would you want _us_ here? We’ve single-handedly ruined every single one of your plans.”

“So far.” Bow added.

Glimmer threw a glare at him.

“Why would I want you here?” Catra asked, deliberately ignoring Glimmer and Bow. “Perhaps it’s because my machine is more than just a crude death ray. I made it with DNA targeting technology.” She glanced back at She Ra, “Oh, I am _so_ sorry! I almost forgot who I was talking to.” She made her tone as condescending as possible. “DNA Targeting allows me to safely kill only the person whose DNA is input—“

“I know what it means.” She Ra interrupted, scowling.

Catra looked amused. “Well. Mayor Dowe will be giving a speech this evening to officially announce her campaign for a 6th term. Now, she is constantly surrounded by security, so it’s almost impossible to get close to her, believe me I’ve tried. But with this,” she gestured at the death ray, “I don’t have to be close. In fact, I barely have to aim. The blast radius is huge, but with DNA targeting…”

“Only Mayor Dowe would be affected.” Glimmer finished, sounding awed. Sometimes her love for impressive tech was just a little bit terrifying.

“Well done Glenda,” Catra said, grinning like a game show host. “Someone’s been paying attention.”

“Wait,” Bow interjected, “what does this have to do with us?”

Catra turned to him, back in teacher mode. “I’m so glad you asked.” She turned her focus back to She Ra and began walking towards her. She Ra gulped, and felt the cables pull tighter, now creeping up towards her neck. “She Ra, hero of Etheria, Savior to the people, and now, apparently, brunch buddy to the mayor.”

She Ra felt her eyes widen. No way. She struggled harder against the restraints.

“How _was_ your brunch this morning? Was it nice to be recognized for your heroism? Did you have fun posing for pictures with your favorite dictator?” Catra was standing right in front of She Ra, her smile long gone. She hooked her finger under one of the cables at She Ra’s chest. She tumbled to her knees with a sharp cry. Catra looked down at her, ran a finger under She Ra’s jaw to tilt her chin up—

“You know Blondie,” Catra whispered, her breath ghosting over She Ra’s lips, “Something tells me this isn’t yours.”

She took a step back and held up her other hand, pinching a long, dark hair. Mayor Dowe’s hair.

“NO!” She Ra screamed, struggling harder.

“You make it too _easy_ She Ra.” Catra crooned from her device as she input the hair as DNA. “You did half the work for me. In fact, it’s only fair to share some of the credit with you.” She grinned. “How about this: when I take over Etheria, I’ll be sure to tell everyone just how _instrumental_ you were in my plot to assassinate the Mayor. Maybe I’ll even build you a statue!”

She turned and sauntered back to her machine, delicately placing the hair into place.

She Ra twisted in her bonds, but the cords just wrapped tighter. Catra must have programmed them to respond to movement.

Wait.

Programmed. These cords are tech. Which means there’s a chance…

She Ra whipped around to see Bow, still holding his quiver high above the climbing cords with shaking arms. Perfect.

“Bow!” She Ra shouted, “Electrical Arrow!”

Bow looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened in understanding. In a flash he pulled a metallic blue arrow from his quiver and swung his arm down to stab it into one of the thickest wires at his waist. For a moment, everything was silent but the crackling from Bow’s arrow. But then—

The lab went dark.

She Ra felt the wires stiffen, no longer moving to fend off her attacks. The electrical surge from the arrow overloaded the power in the lab, leaving the lights, the traps, and the ray of instant death completely non-functional.

Easy.

She Ra had the bonds broken in an instant. Distantly she heard her friends begin to chip away at their own restraints, but she didn’t waste a moment worrying about them. She had one goal:

Catra.

She sprinted over to the death ray, but Catra had already moved to who-knows-where.

Spinning around she strained her eyes, trying to spot the villain to no avail.

“Heeey Sherpa!” Catra’s voice trilled from above her. She Ra barely had time to look up before Catra pounced off of her lofty perch, spring boarding off of the Amazon to land gracefully on her feet, leaving She Ra sprawled on the floor behind her.

She Ra clambered to her feet but before she could orient herself, Catra’s fist slammed into her mouth. Staggering backward she raised her fists, trying to fend off the next attack, only for Catra’s boot to hit her in the side, knocking the wind out of her.

“Not on top of your game today are you?” Catra teased before shoving She Ra up against the railing of the balcony. Hard.

She grunted, the railing and Catra’s arms the only the only things keeping her off the floor. Her mouth _hurt_ , not to mention the rest of her body, but she still managed a weary smile that looked more like a grimace.

“Oh Catra, I don’t need to fight you,” she mumbled, “I’m just the distraction.”

Catra whirled around just in time to see her beautiful death ray explode in a shower of glitter.

Bow and Glimmer were already hooked into harnesses poised to repel down the tower. Glimmer gestured frantically for She Ra to join them.

“Sorry Catra,” She Ra said, unapologetically, “better luck next time?”

Catra’s face was filled with pure hatred. She Ra couldn’t look away. Her eyes burned as the magic of the helmet begged her to turn away, forget what she saw. But She Ra stood transfixed, staring into Catra’s livid eyes.

_Have they always been mismatched?_

Catra grabbed the front of She Ra’s shirt, pulling her close with a menacing snarl. She Ra could feel their breaths mingling in the narrow space between their lips.

“I despise you.” Catra growled pressing her further against the rail. Her body was so warm like there’s a fire burning her from the inside.

She Ra leaned forward and with every ounce of confidence left in her body she whispered in Catra’s ear. “What are you going to do about it?”

And that’s when Catra pushed her off a building. 

~~~ 


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

_Catra_

Catra hated college.

She’d barely made it through her early education, skipping class ever chance she got. By the time she was 14 she was learning from some of the world’s greatest minds in the Horde. Hell, she built a fucking death ray last weekend. There was absolutely no reason she should be taking Introduction to Chemistry at Etheria University.

But it was hard enough to get into this school without even a High School diploma. Testing out of Chemistry wasn’t going to be an option for her. Catra had information to track down, and she wasn’t about to trust anyone else with this undercover job.

So at 8 am on a Monday, Catra was sitting in an uncomfortable plastic chair at a lab table in the back of a lab, resisting the urge to bash her head against the wall.

The professor was ancient, and Catra’s eyelids were drooping within the first two minutes of class. At least the seat next to her was empty, she noticed and smiled to herself. No one to rat her out is she decided to take a quick cat nap.

_SLAM_

The door to the classroom flew open causing the whole class to jump. Standing in the door was a girl, muscular, tanned, hair pulled back in a ponytail with a horrible little poof at the front. She was panting like she’d run the whole way here, and had a messy stack of papers clutched in her arms.

“Sorry—“ _pant_ “—I’m late!” Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were wide and panicked. _Way to make a good first impression,_ Catra thought.

“That’s all right dearie,” the frail old professor said, “why don’t you just take a seat?” She lifted a shaky hand and pointed…

Yeah, you can probably guess which seat she pointed to.

The girl smiled brightly, and turned her big blue eyes to her new table-mate.

Catra scowled and looked away.

She opened her notebook and pretended not to hear the noisy footsteps limping to the chair beside her. She wrote the date in the top of her notebook in neat block letters, ignoring the sound of papers being dropped unceremoniously on the table. She looked up at the teacher, now introducing herself as Professor Razz, and refused to look over as the chair next to her creaked.

So now she was sitting in Intro to Chemistry next to Gym Rat Barbie. This day just kept getting better.

“Hey!” Oh good lord Barbie can speak. “I’m Adora.”

It took Catra a minute, but the silence finally made her look up. Barbie— er, Adora— was staring at Catra expectantly. _Oh. Barbie’s talking to ME._

“Hey.” Catra pressed her lips together in a thin irritated line and started to turn back to her note taking.

“Wait!” Adora said hurriedly. Catra turned her attention back away from Professor Razz rambling about the attendance policy. She swiveled her whole body to face Adora and crossed her arms, every inch of her screaming ‘let’s get this over with’. Adora flushed a bit. Her eyes flitted around the room looking at anything but Catra’s face. All that work to get Catra’s attention, and once she had it she didn’t want it anymore.

Adora took a deep breath. She looked up and met Catra’s eyes— and her eyes widened. Catra gave a wry smile, way too used to this reaction. Heterochromia isn’t very common, and whenever people see her differently-colored eyes, they honestly get a little creepy about it. Adora, however, just frowned at them as if she’s struggling to remember something she’s forgotten.

“Did you… want something?” Catra leaned back in her chair impatiently.

Adora snapped out of her trance, blinking. “Oh! Right!” She smiled nervously, damn she smiles a lot. As if she thinks she can charm her way out of anything with her sunny grin. “I, uh, I was wondering what _your_ name is.”

Catra sighed. “My name’s…” she paused, reminding herself of where she was, “Cara.” It was similar enough to Catra for her to respond to, but not so much that it would raise any red flags for admission. Being one of Etheria’s most wanted isn’t exactly something you put in your college essay.

Adora just kept frowning and staring at Catra.

“Ok seriously, are you going to stare at me all class?”

Adora jumped a little and looked embarrassed. “Sorry, sorry!” She spun in her chair to face the front of the classroom for almost a full five seconds before turning back to Catra. “Hey Cara?”

Catra closed her eyes and released a slow, tense breath. “Yes?”

“Do I know you from somewhere? Because I can’t seem to shake this feeling that I’ve met you before.”

Catra tensed. She knew her blurry image was all over the headlines, Catra is the most infamous person in Etheria right now. Her helmet may disguise her face, but her wild hair, brown skin and frankly iconic silhouette can still be recognized.

_There’s no reason to worry,_ she reminded herself, _Barbie probably just thinks you look like one of her sorority sisters. Just neutralize the situation._

“Nope. Never seen you before.” Her voice was calm. After all, it wasn’t _really_ a lie.

“Huh,” Adora said with a shrug, before her grin returned full force. “Well, I’m glad I met you now!”

Catra suppressed a grimace.

The professor continued to drone on.

“...and I hope everyone is happy with who you’re sitting with, because they’re going to be your lab partner for the rest of the semester!”

No. Way.

Catra whirled around to find Professor Razz looking right at her, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Huh. Maybe the old bird wasn’t as senile as Catra thought.

Without even looking, Catra could feel the waves of giddy excitement emanating from the overgrown toddler next to her. She risked a glance to her right and was almost blinded by the brilliant smile that greeted her.

This was going to be a long semester.

“This is going to be a great semester!” Adorable chirped, before adding, “...Partner!”

~~~

_“We are not partners,” Catra groaned, already getting a headache, “I’m the brains and you’re the muscle. That’s it. Now let’s get this over with.”_

_“Who says I’m not the brains?” She Ra complained._

_Catra looked the 8 foot tall behemoth up and down dramatically. “If you had any brains in there, Hordak wouldn’t have sent me.”_

_She Ra glared at her, but it didn’t carry much weight. When Catra first arrived at Horde Inc., she’d found She Ra intimidating (not that she’d ever admit it). But it didn’t take her long to figure out that she’s really just a big puppy. Sure she may be huge, but she’s more likely to crush you in a hug than in battle. It drives Hordak nuts. But Catra doesn’t mind._

_“So genius,” Catra said, “you still remember the plan?”_

_She Ra rolled her eyes, but then furrowed her brow a bit in concentration. Of course. “We enter through the, ummm, East—“_

_“West.”_

_“Right! The West entrance! You hack into the locks, we find the weapons lab, sneak past the guard, and then I crush the weapon.”_

_“Not bad,” Catra said._

_She Ra grinned. Any scrap of praise had a tendency to make her light up like a Christmas tree._

_They approached the Etherian Defense Facility casually. Ordinarily Catra would do this thing under the cover of darkness, but unfortunately her ‘partner’ has a bad (involuntary) habit of glowing in the dark. Sometimes Catra wondered if She Ra always looked like this, or if this is just some super-charged state. She’d only ever seen her on the job in full warrior mode. She Ra had been with the Horde longer than anyone, and Catra had heard at least a dozen different rumors about her backstory. She knew better than to ask though. They were professionals, and even if She Ra was secretly a scrawny 12-year-old boy, Catra will never know, just like She Ra will never see Catra without her helmet. Privacy is a luxury that Catra won’t soon relinquish, not in this line of work. Horde Inc. is one of the only groups still resisting the oppressive rule of Mayor Dowe. The only thing keeping the police from beating down the door and arresting every one of them is the fact that the Horde’s forces are simply stronger than anything the city of Etheria has to offer._

_This new Etherian weapon could change that though._

_The West entrance was unguarded, just as they’d planned. Hacking the key-card panel was a piece of cake, although She Ra’s nervous shifting in the corner of her eye was more than a little distracting. Still, within 3 minutes they were racing down the dimly lit cinder block hall._

_The defense center was a maze, but Catra had done her prep work. She made each turn without hesitation. Behind her, she could hear the shuffle of She Ra’s boots as she struggled to change directions in time. Catra felt a small smile tug at her lips._

_Suddenly she stopped. She Ra skidded to a stop beside her, and Catra flung out an arm to catch her before she slid around the corner._

_“Why did we sto—“ Catra slapped a hand over She Ra’s mouth before she could finish her sentence._

_“Guards,” Catra hissed, pressing up against the wall to keep hidden. She Ra followed suit, bumping Catra’s shoulder gently._

_Carefully, Catra peeked her head around the corner. It was worse than she’d thought. There were six guards standing outside the entrance to the weapons lab. Catra had been ready for two, maybe three. This was not going to be fun._

_“Ok, new plan,” Catra whispered. She Ra leaned down closer to Catra to listen. “I’m going to go in and take care of the guards. You wait here. When I give the signal, you can come through.”_

_“Wait,” She Ra said, “What’s the signal?”_

_Catra groaned and massaged her temple. “Ugh, I don’t know,” She Ra blinked at her. As if this signal were the most important part of this terrible plan. “Um…” Catra stalled, realizing that she wasn’t getting out of this, “Sunflower!” she said, “I’ll yell sunflower when the coast is clear.”_

_She Ra nodded, all serious. Cute._

_Catra swallowed, and turned away._

_Head tall. Shoulders back._

_Showtime._

_“Hey boys!” Catra called, stepping out into the open. The guards scrambled for their weapons._

_“Who are you?” One of them yelled._

_“Stop!” Cried another._

_Catra kept walking towards them, calm as ever. The poor confused guards raised stun maces, but they clearly had no experience actually using one on a person. Amateurs._

_When she was within ten feet of the door, a guard finally squared up in front of her, leveling his mace with her chest._

_“Not one more move or I’ll—“_

_Catra didn’t let him finish his sentence._

_She sprang into action, kicking the mace out of the guard’s hands and zapping his buddy to the left. Before he even hit the floor she turned to the short guard behind her and clubbed him with the butt of the mace hard enough to leave him seeing stars. One of the others finally registered what was happening and grabbed Catra’s arm. She leaned in and bit the hand. Hard._

_Free from the guard’s grasp, Catra scanned her surroundings. One guard was down for the count, two more were quickly recovering, and the other three would be on her any second. She wasn’t winning this fight._

_But she wasn’t giving up on the mission._

_“HEY LOSERS!” Catra yelled, and then turned on her heel and sprinted down the hallway, away from the weapons lab. “CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!”_

_She heard boots clomping after her, and took her chance. “SUNFLOWER!” She screamed behind her, hoping the guards would just assume it was a weird insult. Hoping She Ra could still hear her._

_She ran through hall after hall, turning randomly until she completely lost track of where she was. She was suddenly grateful for all of the cardio Hordak had forced her to do with all of the other recruits, although getting passed by She Ra 30 times a day was still embarrassing._

_She had started with the guards on her heels, but she was starting to gain some distance on them. She laughed, hearing them panting behind her._

_And that’s when she hit a dead end._

_Fuck._

_The guards were on her in an instant. Catra kicked and scratched anything that grabbed her, but even she has her limits. She hissed as they wrestled her down onto her hands and knees._

_Looking up, she counted six figures looming above her. She smiled. At least her plan worked. The guards all followed her. She Ra was safe. To destroy the weapon. Because Catra couldn’t care less about the safely of that blonde giant. She just wanted the weapon taken care of, and she needed She Ra to get that done._

_Ah screw it. Catra’s about to get arrested, what’s the use in pretending to hate She Ra now?_

_Catra heard the sounds of restraints being prepared. She closed her eyes, getting ready for the shit storm to come—_

_A flash of light burned through the hallway._

_Catra lifted her head, squinting into the light. A figure was standing at the end of the hall, glowing. Blinding white hair whipped in an otherworldly wind. Bright turquoise eyes glared out of the haze, looking just above Catra’s head._

_The light grew brighter and brighter until Catra could hardly see. And then the figure uttered a word._

_“Run.”_

_The arms holding Catra down released, and she heard six pairs of feet sprinting clumsily down the hallway._

_Still cowering on the floor, Catra looked up at the glowing woman nervously._

_“Sh— She Ra?”_

_The light faltered, and then slowly dimmed. The gold and red of She Ra’s uniform came into focus, her hair falling back into her usual golden mane. Finally she blinked and her eyes lose their shocking teal glow. Her blue eyes looked almost gentle now. Almost scared._

_Then she saw Catra. A weary smile crossed her face._

_“Catra…”_

_The warrior wobbled for a moment, then collapsed to her knees with a thud. Catra sprang forward, wrapping her arms around She Ra before she could fall any further._

_She Ra looked up at her, blinking sleepily. “You… ok?”_

_Catra laughed, “Yeah, blondie.” she cradled She Ra face in her hand, so gently. “I’m ok now.”_

_She Ra closed her eyes, smiling. For the first time, she didn’t look so powerful. Crumpled on the floor, leaning heavily on Catra, trusting her wholeheartedly. Catra breathed in deeply, feeling her shoulders relax for the first time in… well, a while._

_A siren blared through the comfortable quiet._

_Catra pushed She Ra up out of her embrace, holding on tight to her shoulders._

_“Hey, She Ra!” Catra shook her shoulders a bit, until her eyes cracked open a smidge. “We gotta go!”_

_She Ra’s face filled with exhaustion._

_“Come on, I need you to get up. We can rest at home.”_

_Her face lit up a little. “We?”_

_Catra glowered and looked away to hide her growing blush. “Separately you idiot.”_

_She Ra smirked._

_“Now come on!” She shifted, slinging She Ra’s arm around her shoulders, grunting as she hauled her to her feet. She Ra whined, but supported her own weight (with Catra’s help)._

_“You ready?” Catra said, looking up at She Ra with uncharacteristic warmth. Their faces were so close._

_She Ra swallowed, eyes flitting down to Catra’s parted lips. “I… uh…”_

_Catra’s eyes dilated, her hand shifting a bit on She Ra’s waist._

_Footsteps echoed down the corridor._

_Catra pulled back, still holding She Ra, but not quite so closely._

_"Let’s go"_

_~~~_

**Author's Note:**

> This is the longest fic I've ever written, but that's probably just because I'm in love with these little lesbians. But I actually outlined this one, and chapter two with be published Saturday!


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